Day Nine at the Mutua Madrid Open produced two very different quarter-finals, with one major upset and one dominant display from a top seed.
The main story was Alexander Blockx continuing his run by defeating defending champion Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to reach his first Masters 1000 semi-final.
Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev cruised past Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 6-4 to book his place in the last four for the fourth time in Madrid.
Here are the quarter-final results, stats and highlights from Day 9:
Day Nine 2026 Madrid Open Quarter Final Results
| Winner | Loser | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander Blockx | (12) Casper Ruud | 6-4 6-4 |
| (2) Alexander Zverev | (10) Flavio Cobolli | 6-1 6-4 |
Match Recap
Alexander Blockx def. (12) Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4
Alexander Blockx produced the biggest result of his young career on Thursday, defeating defending champion Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.
The 21-year-old Belgian qualifier continued his clay-court surge with a composed and high-quality performance.
Ruud, who had looked decent earlier in the tournament and took out the improving Tsitsipas, couldn’t find his usual rhythm and was unable to create many opportunities on return.
I thought he struggled to come up with a coherent game plan to disrupt Blockx; it was just loopy forehands into the backhand wing, and he didn’t look capable of hurting him from the baseline, which is worrying when you supposedly have a heavy forehand.
Blockx broke early in the first set with a brilliant spinning drop shot and maintained control throughout, converting 3 out of 7 break points while staying solid on his own serve.
This victory marks Blockx’s fourth win against a Top 20 player this month alone (after previously beating Auger-Aliassime and Francisco Cerúndolo in Madrid, plus Cobolli in Monte Carlo).
Match Stats
| Key Stats | Casper Ruud | Alexander Blockx |
|---|---|---|
| Winners | 19 | 19 |
| Unforced Errors | 23 | 16 |
| Aces | 1 | 2 |
| Double Faults | 1 | 3 |
| 1st Serve % | 68% (42/62) | 51% (33/65) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 60% (25/42) | 85% (28/33) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 50% (10/20) | 44% (14/32) |
| Break Points Saved | 57% (4/7) | 67% (2/3) |
| Service Games | 70% (7/10) | 90% (9/10) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 15% (5/33) | 40% (17/42) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 56% (18/32) | 50% (10/20) |
| Break Points Won | 33% (1/3) | 43% (3/7) |
| Return Games | 10% (1/10) | 30% (3/10) |
| Pressure Points | 50% (5/10) | 50% (5/10) |
| Service Points | 56% (35/62) | 65% (42/65) |
| Return Points | 35% (23/65) | 44% (27/62) |
| Net Points | 72% (13/18) | 85% (11/13) |
| Total Points | 46% (58/127) | 54% (69/127) |
| Match Points Saved | 3 | – |
| Max Points In A Row | 6 | 8 |
| Total Games | 40% (8/20) | 60% (12/20) |
| Max Games In A Row | 2 | 3 |
Highlights
Alexander Zverev def. (10) Flavio Cobolli 6-1 6-4
Alexander Zverev produced a dominant performance to reach the semi-finals of the Madrid Open, defeating Flavio Cobolli in straight sets.
Just 12 days after losing to the Italian in the Munich semi-finals, Zverev flipped the script completely with a clinical display on Manolo Santana Stadium.
He was rock solid on serve (dropping just 7 points behind his first serve) and dictated play from the baseline, racing through the first set 6-1 and maintaining control in the second to close it out 6-4 in 90 minutes.
The German looked sharp and focused throughout, striking eight aces in the first set alone and rarely allowing Cobolli any rhythm.
Cobolli struggled to really disrupt Zverev from the baseline, showing little variety in his game and instead opting to tee off on most of his shots, which didn’t really work. He played better in the second set, and had two break chances when Zverev had his typical wobble when trying to close it out, but couldn’t convert.
Match Stats
| Key Stats | Flavio Cobolli | Alexander Zverev |
|---|---|---|
| Winners | 11 | 23 |
| Unforced Errors | 18 | 19 |
| Aces | 1 | 12 |
| Double Faults | 4 | 2 |
| 1st Serve % | 56% (35/62) | 75% (39/52) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 49% (17/35) | 82% (32/39) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 59% (16/27) | 46% (6/13) |
| Break Points Saved | 73% (8/11) | 100% (2/2) |
| Service Games | 63% (5/8) | 100% (9/9) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 18% (7/39) | 51% (18/35) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 54% (7/13) | 41% (11/27) |
| Break Points Won | 0% (0/2) | 27% (3/11) |
| Return Games | 0% (0/9) | 38% (3/8) |
| Pressure Points | 62% (8/13) | 38% (5/13) |
| Service Points | 53% (33/62) | 73% (38/52) |
| Return Points | 27% (14/52) | 47% (29/62) |
| Net Points | 40% (2/5) | 67% (8/12) |
| Total Points | 41% (47/114) | 59% (67/114) |
| Max Points In A Row | 5 | 7 |
| Total Games | 29% (5/17) | 71% (12/17) |
| Max Games In A Row | 1 | 5 |
Highlights
Madrid Open 2026 Day Ten Semi-Final Matches
- (1) Jannik Sinner vs (21) Arthur Fils
- Alexander Blockx vs (2) Alexander Zverev